SC sees nearly 100 more COVID-19 patients hospitalized in one day
South Carolina’s hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by almost 100 additional people in the last day as coronavirus case totals statewide grew by 890, state health officials reported Tuesday.
In all, 824 hospital beds across the state are occupied by people diagnosed with COVID-19 or who are suspected to have it — an increase from 731 announced Monday, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
In all, 26,572 people have contracted the virus since March.
DHEC officials also announced that 14 more people died Tuesday, bringing the total death toll up to 673.
Which counties were affected?
Charleston County saw the largest increase in cases with 211. It was followed by Horry County with 133.
Richland County saw 73 new cases, and Lexington County saw 41 new coronavirus cases, according to DHEC.
Patients who died came from the following counties:
- Beaufort (1)
- Charleston (1)
- Chesterfield (2)
- Fairfield (1)
- Greenville (1)
- Greenwood (1)
- Horry (2)
- Lexington (1)
- Marlboro (1)
- Spartanburg (3)
How are hospitals being impacted
More and more of South Carolina’s about 10,500 hospital beds are being filled.
Tuesday, the state broke its record for the most coronavirus patients needing to be hospitalized, a record that was just set Monday after state health officials reported that 731 patients were in hospitals.
As of Tuesday, a total of 7,575 hospital beds were occupied across the state, meaning that COVID-19 patients accounted for nearly 11% of patients.
In all, hospitals across the state are at about 72.29% capacity.
The situation is similar locally. In Richland County, 72.6% of beds are filled, and in Lexington County, patients have filled 88.6% of beds.
Are all cases accounted for?
South Carolina officials estimate that as much as 86% of all COVID-19 cases go undiagnosed or untested. As of Tuesday, that meant that, in all, about 189,800 people had likely contracted the virus since March.
DHEC has also started to track what they consider to be probable cases or probable deaths. A probable case is someone who has not received lab test results, but has coronavirus symptoms or a positive antibody test, according to DHEC’s definition. A probable death would be someone whose death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death or a contributing factor, but has not received a lab test.
Tuesday, they reported three new probable cases and zero probable deaths.
HOW IS COVID-19 TRENDING IN SC?
South Carolina has seen record high daily coronavirus case counts over the past two weeks, showing that the virus’ activity in the state is increasing dramatically. Last week, DHEC officials recorded case counts ranging from 577 to 1,157, and the week before, cases fell between 434 and 802.
Each day over the last two weeks, the state has announced total COVID-19 case numbers that have exceeded by hundreds of cases the daily counts announced in March, April and early May. From mid-April to mid-May, health officials saw an average of about 166 cases per day.
DHEC officials use the percentage of positive tests to gauge the virus’ progression in the state. Over the last 28 days, that number has gone up.
On Tuesday, DHEC officials calculated that 17.4% of tests were positive, a number that is similar to what health officials saw on days in March and early April. At its lowest point, the percent of positive tests fell between 2-4% on average.
WHY ARE CASE NUMBERS UP?
DHEC officials say the increase could be due to more people leaving their homes and fewer wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
Starting April 20, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has gradually reopened businesses, including restaurants, retailers, beaches and close contact businesses such as gyms and salons. The Columbia Republican pushed to open some attractions as well by Memorial Day.
The governor has also said that he does not plan to reimpose or add new restrictions on businesses or require residents to wear masks, adding that it’s South Carolinians’ individual responsibility to practice social distancing.
HOW DHEC’S TESTING PLAN IMPACTS CASE NUMBERS
DHEC officials have said their increased testing strategy could also be driving up the number of cases identified each day.
Since March, labs have completed 352,750 tests.
But while cases have increased dramatically, the number of daily tests has stayed relatively steady since the week of May 10, completing about 35,000 tests a week.
On Monday, state health officials announced that they would be increasing their monthly testing goal. They hope to complete about 140,000 tests each month in June, July and August, and hope to reach 165,000 tests a month by the end of the year.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
